Ryan Songalia: I think it’s a bit ridiculous that Parker was even in this situation. He has been interim titleholder for a year and a half, has shown over his past three fights that he was the second best heavyweight in the world, and should already have gotten his shot at the undisputed championship. That said, it isn’t as cut and dry as either side of the debate is making it out to be. Viewing just the stoppage in a 30-second highlight makes it look less defensible, as Wardley was missing as much as he was landing and looked to be out of steam by the time the fight was stopped. On the other hand, it had been a grueling fight where both had taken lots of damage, and Parker had been hurt several times, including the round before and just before the stoppage. What makes it even more divisive is that it was Howard Foster making the call, and he’s long had a reputation for controversial stoppages. That’s really something that the team of the visiting Parker should have considered in pre-fight negotiations. It comes down to your philosophy on when a fight should be stopped, but my feeling is when there is so much at stake, it’s hard to justify stopping the fight just as the other boxer starts firing back.
Subscribe to my channel
